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Theresa Daytner doesn't believe you can think too big. Six years
ago, the co-founder of Daytner Construction Group, which provides
general contracting and construction-management services, had the
lofty goal of growing revenue from six digits to $10 million. In
2011, her Mount Airy, Md.-based company nearly doubled that
target figure.

The growth spurt came courtesy of skills and support Daytner
picked up from Count Me In for Women's Economic Independence, a
nonprofit that provides resources, business education and
community to help women turn their ventures into serious
moneymakers, with revenue of $1 million or more.

There are more than 8.1 million women-owned businesses in the
U.S., accounting for 29 percent of all enterprises, but only 1.8
percent of them ever hit the $1 million revenue mark. "They may
not even have a notion they could be a bigger business," says
Count Me In founder Nell Merlino (who also conceived "Take Our
Daughters to Work Day").

When Daytner signed up for Count Me In's "Make Mine a Million $ Business"
program, launched in 2005, her company had annual revenue
of $100,000. Count Me In helped her refine her business pitch
and connected her with experts in coaching, financing and
publicity, as well as the organization's network of partners
such as Sam's Club, Wal-Mart and American Express Open.
Daytner completed the program in 2006, and her company closed
out the year with revenue of $800,000. Last year, Daytner
Construction pulled in $18 million.

"Starting with the experience of having to prepare and present
... it was an amazing catalyst for me," Daytner says. Her company
has expanded from "a dining-room table" in 2003 to a
2,100-square-foot headquarters and 13 employees.

Merlino, who started Count Me In back in 1999, recalls that
"there weren't a lot of role models" for women in business at the
time. "As I talked to more women and more organizations, it was
clear there was a need for an organization to step in and help
women grow businesses," she says. More than 500 entrepreneurs are
awardees and finalists of Make Mine a Million and other pitch
competitions; 32 percent of them have reached the million-dollar
mark.

In May, Count Me In launched an initiative in Los Angeles called
Urban Rebound, offering conferences, pitch competitions and
training and coaching programs; this year it's expanding to
Charlotte, N.C., and Detroit. The goal: to help 100 women-owned
firms in each region attain $250,000 in annual revenue within 12
to 18 months, pumping a potential $75 million into the economy
and creating 600 to 900 new jobs.

"What I see already is a level of innovation that we never could
have anticipated," Merlino says. "[There is] a range and array of
products that are coming out of women's heads and their
experience that I think will dramatically change how we
live."